M's to begin skipper interviews

SEATTLE -- The process of hiring the Mariners' 12th manager, the team's first such search in more than 10 years, shifts into a higher gear this week. General manager Pat Gillick, along with assistants Roger Jongewaard, Lee Pelekoudas and Benny Looper, will begin interviewing potential candidates to replace Lou Piniella.

First up will be John McLaren, a member of Piniella's coaching staff the past 10 years, the last five as the bench coach. McLaren is scheduled to be interviewed on Tuesday in Seattle, followed by Seattle pitching coach Bryan Price.

Although McLaren doesn't have Major League managerial experience, he has managed in the minor leagues and winter leagues and is regarded as one of the prime candidates to replace the most successful manager in franchise history.

Gillick returned to Seattle on Monday to begin the interviewing process.

Exactly who else will be interviewed remains a mystery. McLaren and Price are known to be on a list of candidates, as are Dodgers coach and former manager Jim Riggleman, Yankees third-base coach Willie Randolph and Orioles coach and former Mariners coach Sam Perlozzo.

Gillick hasn't said if he will pursue Giants manager Dusty Baker, who became a "free agent" after the World Series. Angels pitching coach Bud Black, a Longview, Wash., native also has been mentioned, along with former MLB skippers Buddy Bell, Phil Garner and Don Baylor.

The first round of interviews is expected to last through the weekend. The list will be sliced to possibly two or three finalists, who will then have another interview with Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln and president Chuck Armstrong.

The top executives are expected to endorse Gillick's recommendation.

Gillick has said there is no rush to hire a manager, but with the free agent signing period approaching and the GM meetings slated to begin Nov. 11 in Tucson, Ariz., it would seem important to have the manager on board by then.